Monday, June 01, 2015

robot made of origami.

The device, which measures just two thirds of an inch (1.7cm) in length, was developed by a team from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the Technische Universität München.

The researchers have been working on origami-inspired machines since 2012.

Their latest tiny robot is made from sheets of PVC and laser-cut layers of polystyrene and paper with a magnet inside it.

Once heated, it folds into an origami shape in less than a minute.

In a video, the robot can be seen zipping around at speeds of one-and-a-half inches (between three and four centimetres) per second, swimming, climbing slopes and pushing double its weight, by vibrating.

This is due to an external magnetic field, which is projected from four coils in a box beneath it, without the need for a battery in the robot itself.

The magnetic field doesn't simply drag the device along but causes the magnet inside it to oscillate backwards and forwards.

This means its front and back 'legs' make contact with the ground, which when combined with the bot being slightly heavier at the front, make it walk along.

The origami shape also means it's more efficient at moving objects and digging than using a simple magnet.